My First Birth Session | Winnipeg Birth Photographer
Photographing a birth has been sitting on my heart for years. Not as a trend. Not as something to “add on.” But as something I deeply wanted to experience as a storyteller.
Before I booked my first Fresh 48 session over 7 years ago I knew in my heart that a birth would be a goal of mine. In fact, I only stumbled across Fresh 48 sessions because I was so enamoured with Birth Sessions. The time restriction of being on call for a birth was what pushed me to dive into the Fresh 48 world. As a Winnipeg family photographer, I’ve spent years documenting newborns in those first 48 hours. I’ve seen the hours after the quiet and the overwhelming emotion.
But this time, I was invited into the actual beginning.
When they asked me to document their birth, I felt it right away, that this was something different. Also cue all the emotions running through my head, from self doubt to excitement to gratitude and yes, even fear.
Birth doesn’t wait. There’s no rescheduling. No control over timing, lighting, or how things unfold. Like, was I really agreeing to this?! You show up, fully present, and you document the story as it’s written in real time.
Walking into that room felt unlike any session I’ve done before. It was calm, but full. Heavy in the most meaningful way.
There’s a unique rhythm to labour, waves of intensity, moments of stillness, quiet strength building in between. And my role wasn’t to direct or pose., it was to witness and be present and alert.
What stayed with me the most were the quick in-between moments. The steady support from her partner. The quiet encouragement. The exhaustion and the strength that kept showing up anyway. This is what birth photography really is. WOW. Not perfection, but presence.
And then, everything shifted. SO FAST. Every birth is so different and I knew that the way this baby arrived was in a way that I would never get to witness again. This birth was a once in a lifetime event.
The moment the baby arrived, the room changed. You could feel it before you could even process it. Mom's reaction. That first cry. All the hands on mom and baby. The calm yet anxious seconds immediately after she was lifted out of the water.
It’s something you don’t just see, you feel it. And holy did I feel it. I went from wanting to cry for her pain to being a quiet encouragement, to feeling the nerves of catching all the angles to saying to myself holy sh*t this is happening right now, to wanting to scream , "You did it!" In fact I'm sure I did scream that as soon as I felt it was proper to speak LOL.
As someone who specializes in Fresh 48 and newborn photography in Winnipeg, this experience changed the way I see those early hours even more. Because now I’ve witnessed what comes before. The strength. The surrender. The story that begins long before I ever walk into a hospital room for those first portraits, even if it's only a few hours in between.
This wasn’t just a bucket list moment for me. It was something deeper. An experience that reminded me why I do this in the first place, to document real life, as it happens, in the most honest and respectful way possible.
You don’t need to prepare or perform. You just need to show up as you are.
Is Birth Photography something I plan to offer from now on? Probably not right away. The logistics of being on call 24/7 and the need to drop everything still poses as a barrier for me but it's definitely not a no. In the meantime, I am content on focusing on my Fresh 48 sessions.
A side note: I want to share my immense gratitude to this mama for inviting me into her sacred space. For putting her trust in me and believing in me. It is an honour to be invited into your lives and be a tiny part of your journey. Thank you.
xoxo
Erica
